Introduction

Since the Internet increase in the mid-90s, there has been a rush by standard organizations to originate a global XML-based e-business infrastructure. EbXML project was the one, jointly originated by UN/CEFACTand OASIS which started in 1999 and includes more than 2,000 participants from 100 organizations across 150 countries. Electronic Business eXtensible Markup Language (ebXML) is a part of XML-based standards supported by Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information Standards (OASIS) and United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT). The goal or mission of ebXML is to give an open, XML-based infrastructure that enables electronic trading relationships between business partners in secure, consistent and an interoperable manner. The model for better e-Business seeks to move from processes that are paper based and highly labor intensive in configuring and spreading out manually, to a world where trading partners can find each other and then begin to do business electronically by linking their systems using ebXML and the Internet.
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has approved the following five ebXML specifications as the ISO 15000 standard, under the general title, Electronic business eXtensible markup language:
• ISO 15000-1: ebXML Collaboration Partner Profile Agreement;
• ISO 15000-2: ebXML Messaging Service Specification;
• ISO 15000-3: ebXML Registry Information Model;
• ISO 15000-4: ebXML Registry Services Specification; and
• ISO 15000-5: ebXML Core Components Technical Specification.

1 ebXML Implementation

Based on the ebXML specification, there are three phases concerned by which an organization involves in business transactions with other partners which are listed below.

1.1 Implementation Phase

In the Implementation Phase, the component is the ebXML Registry and Repository (ebXML RR). The ebXML Repository contains industry defined Business Processes and Scenarios that are suitable to most business transactions. For e.g organisation A, which is interested in doing electronic business as per the ebXML standard, consists of three steps as shown in Figure :
• Request Information;
• Implement ebXML System; and
• Publish Business Profile.

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1.2 Discovery and Negotiation Phase

In the second phase, it describes how Organisation prepares to conduct electronic business with Organisation B. the below stated figure gives the clear view how the data are implemented and retrieved from one organization to other.

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1.3 Transaction Phase

Transactions are now ready to conduct with the partner organistions. The transactions consist of ebXML messages, which are sent over the standard ebXML Messaging Service.


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2 Core Component Technical Specification

The Core Component Technical Specification (CCTS) presents a methodology for developing a common set of semantic building blocks that represents the general types of business data in use today and provides for the creation of new business vocabularies and restructuring of existing business vocabularies. The CCTS key concepts cover two focus areas - Core Components and Business Information Entities, which are explained below.

2.1 Core Components

Core Component is divided into four different categories: Basic Core Component, Association Core Component, Core Component Type and Aggregate Core Component. Below Figure shows Core Components.

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2.2 Business Information Entity

When a core component is used in a real business circumstance it serves as a basis of a Business Information Entity. Business Information Entity is the result of using a Core Component within a specific Business Context. There are three types of Business Information Entity, (1) Basic Business Information Entity; (2) Association Business Information Entity; and (3) Aggregate Business Information Entity.New_Picture_(4).png

3 Universal Business Language

In 2001, when ebXML phase 1 was completed, work for ebXML phase 2 began. Both OASIS and UN/CEFACT discussed on scope of work and the area of responsibilities that each organisation would be responsible for. This is shown in Figure below.

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References

[1] Eric Chiu, ebXML Simplified-A Guide to the New Standard for Global E-Commerce,
[2] David A. Chappell et al, Professional ebXML Foundations, Apress, 2004.
[3] David Webber, The Benefits of ebXML for e-Business, XML 2004 Proceedings.
[4] Mark Crawford, UBL: Realizing eBusiness XML, 2003.
[5] Jon Bosak, Denmark leads the way with electronic billing, August 2005.